Let's Go Downeast for a Quilt Show, Part 3

 

Here's our final look at the wonderful Maine Quilts 2025. This special display of miniatures by the late Dorothy Bosselman were on loan from the collection of the New England Quilt Museum. Dorothy began making miniature versions of historic Amish quilts in the 1990s, and hand quilting these small treasures. This Lone Star mini measures just 12" x 14", so imagine the size of those pieces and Dorothy's meticulous hand stitch! Her border quilting is called "double rodding" and is a hallmark of traditional Amish quilts.

It was a challenge to photograph these minis because they were mounted on canvas display boards and hard to shoot straight-on. I love the dusty purples in her Sunshine and Shadow, 10" square.

Square-in-a-Square is a traditional Amish design. Clearly it was one of Dorothy's favorites to piece and quilt. It's one of mine, too. Many years ago I took a class with Catherine Anthony on making Amish-style quilts. This was the pattern we used in class, and could fill the center with any number of designs such as squares-on-point or bars. The piecing was simple and left plenty of space to showcase the quilting. We learned to make traditional templates for our own "pumpkin seeds" and "tear drops" which became complex cables, feathers, and wreaths when we duplicated them and marked them on our quilt tops. You can see some of those designs in Dorothy's work, too. Hers are just 15" square.

This is not one of Dorothy's quilts, but I included it with the miniatures because that is pretty tiny piecing! This is Kimberly Minns' entry in her local guild's challenge. The group used wrapping paper designs as the basis for each quilter's inspiration. A novel idea. Next posts coming up are from another quilt exhibit. I'll save you time, gas, and money to "armchair travel" to see this wonderful show at an art museum. Stay tuned...

Let's Go Downeast for a Quilt Show... Part 2

 

As usual, with a quilt show, there was so much eye candy at Maine Quilts 2025 that it cannot be contained in a single post. Hence, part 2 with part 3 yet to come. There's both complexity and simplicity in "MegaStar" by Mary Ann Cugini, quilted by Kevin McMurry. She used a design by Brigitte Heitland for her Modern Quilt design. 

I just want to open the door of Celeste Poulin's "Secluded Garden". Right after I admire the flora and stonework, plus the texture she achieved with her quilting and fabric choices. 

Beatrice Gilbert notes in her artist statement that "Surf's Up" is "a riot of color and graphics". She got that right! And she earned ribbons for her artistry and workmanship.

The colors, and of course the horse print, really caught my eye in this round robin quilt project. It was made by Ruthann Fox and is a celebration of the wild horses that live in the Salt River area of Arizona near her home.

Now for the show's theme quilt display- the Log Cabins. This simple quilt design is where so many quilters got their start. It was among my first quilts. And yet the variations of the design are endless. Maine 2025 included antique Log Cabins as well as modern interpretations. "Les Lanternes du Palais" is the display piece made by Elisabeth Nacenta de la Coix, made in 2015.

Log Cabin, Courthouse Steps Variation is a vintage quilt from the collection of Ardis and Robert James. It's believed to be a Massachusetts quilt, maker unknown, circa 1870-1890. 

Another vintage quilt- Log Cabin, Barn Raising, also from the Ardis and Robert James collection, is possibly a Pennsylvania quilt, maker unknown, circa 1870-1890.

And a third, Log Cabin, Straight Furrow, from the same collection, is also possibly a Pennsylvania quilt, maker unknown, circa 1880-1900.

Lastly, this series of art quilts by Brenda Saller was appealing for its coloration and the detailed hand stitching. The final part of this blog series will have something astonishing for the miniature quilt lovers! Stay tuned.